My college roommates found out I was a certified yoga instructor and begged me to lead them in workouts. I charged them ten dollars a class, four times a week. Then, suddenly, one day, no one showed up. When I asked them about it, everyone ignored me. That's when I discovered my best friend, Chloe, had stolen my business. She was charging them only eight dollars a class. But Chloe had only ever taken a few classes with me. She didn't understand the fundamental principles of yoga at all. Sure enough, a few classes later, her overly aggressive physical adjustments resulted in a classmate's leg being snapped in half. 1 Not a single person showed up to my class today. The dance studio, usually packed to the brim, was completely empty. A wave of disappointment washed over me. Was there some mandatory school event I didn't know about? I packed up my mats and props and headed back to the dorm. But when I opened the door, I found they had all clearly just finished a yoga session. I stood frozen in the doorway. "You guys didn't come to my class. Where did you practice?" Outside studios charge over a hundred dollars a session. Isn't my ten-dollar class a massive bargain in comparison? But no one even acknowledged me. They threw me a few mocking glances and scattered with awkward chuckles. I suddenly felt like an absolute clown. I reached out and grabbed my roommate, Lily. "Lily, what happened? Did I do something wrong?" Lily turned her head, glaring at me angrily, and violently yanked her arm out of my grasp. "Get away from me! I can't believe I actually treated you like a friend! How could you scam me like this?!" I was completely bewildered. "I didn't." Lily stepped into my personal space, her neck stiff with rage. "Don't give me that bullshit! Tell me! How much do yoga instructors get paid per class outside?!" She was asking the right person. My family owns a chain of yoga studios. Both my mom and my aunt are certified Iyengar instructors. I started professional training with them when I was very young. By high school, I was already a fully qualified, advanced-level yoga instructor. So, I eagerly explained to Lily: "For a corporate class of 15 people at an outside studio, the instructor's fee is easily 300 dollars!" "Bullshit!" Lily shoved me hard, furious. "We already investigated! Yoga instructors make 100 dollars a class, max!" How is that even possible?! Where did she get that information? My chest tightened with panic. "My family..." "Your family this, your family that! Stop lying! We looked it up. The Serenity Yoga Studio you're always bragging about isn't even owned by your family! The registered owner's last name is Miller!" Lily didn't give me a chance to explain before turning and storming off. But... the registered legal owner of Serenity Yoga Studio is my grandmother. Her maiden name is Miller. 2 Watching Lily's retreating, furious back, a wave of intense grievance hit me. She wasn't a malicious person. Lily was just blunt, outgoing, and honestly, a bit naive. She was easily manipulated by others; it wouldn't be the first time. So, she definitely wasn't the mastermind behind this. Then who was? My eyes swept over my best friend Chloe's desk. Several brand-new, no-name yoga books were stacked on it. A terrible suspicion began to take root in my mind. Right at that moment, Chloe walked in holding her washbasin. The second she saw me, a complex mix of shame and naked greed flashed in her eyes. Instantly, she masked it with her usual sweet smile. "Oh, babe! When did you get back?" I stared at her dead in the eyes, refusing to say a word. She set down the basin, walked over, and grabbed my hand. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Tears suddenly started pouring down my face. She was my best friend. Seeing her act like this pushed my feelings of betrayal to the absolute limit. "Chloe... did you..." Before I could finish, seven or eight girls stormed into our dorm room. The ringleader, Mia, roared furiously, "Oh, look who's back! You greedy, money-grubbing bitch! Scamming your own classmates!" "Exactly! Were you raised in a barn?! Do you need someone to teach you some manners?!" Terrified, I stumbled backward. Chloe smoothly dodged behind the group of angry girls. Mia got right in my face, aggressively demanding, "Harper! When you said you contacted the factory directly and got us the absolute cheapest price on those yoga mats, did you have any shame at all?!" I was trembling with rage. "The factory gave us the wholesale price of 68 dollars, and they threw in the yoga blocks and stretching straps for free." Mia violently hurled the two yoga blocks right at my face. "Who the hell wants your defective, 'free' yoga blocks?! Take them back!" "Exactly! 'Free'? You were just throwing us your scraps." Blood instantly gushed from my nose. A flicker of panic crossed the faces of a few girls, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. I pulled out a few tissues and pinched my nose. Sobbing, I said, "I have the chat logs with the factory owner. You can look at them." "Spit on it! Chat logs can be faked! You guys are all rats in the same nest! Who would believe you?!" Mia pointed her finger at me, screaming, "Let me tell you, stop playing the victim! Refund us the money for those yoga mats right now!" "Yeah! Refund us!" "And refund us the extra money you scammed us out of for the classes!" 3 My tears wouldn't stop flowing. "Fine! I'll refund you! I don't need friends like you anyway!" "Who the hell wants to be friends with a scammer?!" "Haha, yeah! From now on, let's just call her Harper the Scammer!" My nose was still bleeding, and I started to feel a little dizzy. "Give... give me back the... yoga blocks and straps I gave you. All of them." Mia laughed. "You scammed us. Consider those things compensation for our emotional distress." "You guys are going way too far. It's not like you don't know how much yoga mats cost retail." I cried, swapping out the blood-soaked tissues for fresh ones. "Then how come Chloe was able to find us yoga mats for 38 dollars?" Hearing that sentence, my heart plummeted. My tears stopped instantly. I looked up, staring past the angry crowd at my "best friend." Her eyes darted nervously. She stepped forward, gently pushing a few girls aside. "Alright, guys, let's stop fighting. Even if what Harper did was wrong, she did lead our practice for a while. We should be grateful for that." "Spit on it! Why should we be grateful?! She overcharged us massively!" "Exactly! We're all broke college students, and she schemed against us. She has a truly ugly heart!" Chloe stood in front of me, acting as if she were rescuing me. "Hasn't she been punished enough? Look, she's bleeding." "Serves her right!" "Fine. For your sake, Chloe, we won't beat her to death today." Mia tilted her head, glaring at me. "But I'm warning you, before you go to sleep tonight, you better refund every single cent!" The mob of girls swarmed out of the dorm room. Someone turned back and asked Chloe, "Chloe, what time are you teaching class tomorrow?" Chloe shot a nervous glance at me, then whispered, "I'll send a notification in the group chat. Just wait for my message." Then, she slipped out of the room as fast as she could. Lily, who had been standing silently on the sidelines the whole time, clenched her fists tightly. As if making a firm decision, she walked over to me. She handed me a hot towel. "Harper... regardless of whether what you did was right or wrong, I should have helped you just now. I had no idea they were going to get physical." I pushed the hot towel away. Lily looked incredibly defeated. I forced a small smile and told her, "This is evidence. I can't wipe it off." "I'm so sorry, Harper. I'm keeping a close eye on them. If anyone tries to touch you again, I swear I'll fight them myself." Finally, a warm word on this terrible night. I shook my head at her. "I'm fine." Then, I gathered all the blood-soaked tissues, didn't even bother changing my clothes, and called my mom. "Mom, call the police. I got assaulted." 4 Lily offered to walk me down, but I refused. She looked at me with anxious uncertainty. "Harper, maybe I misunderstood you. Just now, I didn't see a single trace of guilt in your eyes. Only shock and betrayal." "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I feel guilty?" She nodded vigorously. "Right, right! But Chloe... her eyes were darting everywhere, like she was hiding a massive secret." I smiled helplessly. Lily was finally putting the pieces together. She grabbed my wrist. "Harper! She was lying, wasn't she? I'm so sorry. But when I listened to her telling us all those things you supposedly did, I was just so incredibly angry." I patted the back of her hand. "Just take care of yourself." A tiny smile finally broke through on her face. "What do you mean?" "When you go to her yoga class, don't follow her too deep into the advanced poses." "Okay, okay! Don't worry!" My phone started ringing. It was my mom. "Harper, come downstairs. We're driving straight to the police station." Grabbing all the evidence, I sprinted downstairs. As I ran past the neighboring dorm, Mia happened to see me. She yelled out, "Are you crazy?! Running out in the middle of the night!" Immediately following her, I heard Chloe's roar from behind me. "Don't let her get away! She's trying to run so she doesn't have to refund us! Everyone, after her!" So, as soon as I hit the second-floor landing, I heard the thunderous thump, thump, thump of footsteps chasing me. Like they were hunting down a thief. "Damn it, Harper! Give us our money back!" "Refund us! Don't let her escape!" Hitting the first-floor exit, I sprinted down the path. My mom's car was parked right at the East Gate. I dove inside instantly. Slamming the door shut, I saw those girls furiously screaming something at me through the glass. And Chloe, panting heavily, glared at me with absolute, undisguised malice. A sudden, bone-chilling cold washed over my back. Chloe was a student on a financial aid scholarship. She had once casually complained to me: "This world is so unfair. Some people have to walk miles just to get to school, while others are born sitting in luxury cars." I wanted to comfort her so badly then. But her next sentence made me choke on my words. "Rich people all deserve to die!" 5 Chloe had hidden her true colors far too well. From the very beginning, she never had any genuine intention of exercising. She complained that classes were exhausting and everyone's necks were breaking from looking down at their laptops. She heard yoga was relaxing. Since I knew how to teach it, she suggested I teach them. A bunch of college girls getting together, chatting and laughing while working out sounded like fun. So, I agreed. Originally, I thought I'd just be leading a few girls from our dorm. But to my surprise, Chloe went ahead and reserved an entire dance studio. She gathered over a dozen people to take the class together. She even told everyone that I shouldn't be working for free, and they should give me a small fee for my time. She looked at me with those big, innocent eyes and asked, "Babe, how much do you think we should charge per person per class?" I looked at the group. It was exactly the size of my smallest corporate classes. So I cut my usual rate in half to $150 total. That broke down to $10 a person per class. When I taught corporate classes, a session was exactly one hour. When teaching my classmates, every single class lasted at least an hour and a half. I carefully observed everyone's physical condition and tailored the poses to their specific needs. I absolutely refused to push them for quick, superficial results. I would never let them wreck their bodies just so they could hit some flashy, advanced pose to post on Instagram. I wanted my classmates to heal and strengthen their bodies step-by-step. Realigning the pelvis, resetting the lumbar spine, restoring the natural curve of the cervical spine. Chloe was the kind of person who appeared to have great flexibility. But true practitioners know: a stiff body is actually a treasure. Because it means the joints are stable and secure. The ligaments possess sufficient elasticity. All of this protects the body from injury far better. Even if, on the surface, they look a bit clumsy. Chloe was the exact opposite. In her very first class, she was able to force herself into the shape of several advanced poses. But upon closer inspection, I noticed she had severe anterior pelvic tilt, and her knee hyperextension was extremely dangerous. If she didn't pay close attention, she could easily snap a bone. This is unfortunately very common in careless yoga practices. But looking back now, I realized she never took a single word of my warnings seriously. Instead, she thought I was just jealous of her. The girls practicing with us constantly praised her natural talent, telling her how amazing she was. I vaguely remember someone saying, "Chloe, you were literally born to be a yoga master." "Yeah! Look at Harper, she's been practicing for years and she still struggles with the splits, but you dropped right into it on your first try!" 6 It seems those irresponsible, empty praises were what drove Chloe to commit these terrible acts against me. And the girls practicing with her were all incredibly impatient, desperate for instant results. I gave it a few weeks, tops, before they started severely injuring themselves. "We're here. Let's head in." My mom gently patted my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. The police had taken my mom's 911 call and instructed us to come straight to the precinct to file an official report. Taking photos of my injuries, gathering evidence, scheduling an official medical evaluation for the next day... It was 10:30 PM by the time they let me go. My mom then drove me straight to the emergency room for a preliminary checkup. The doctor said it wasn't anything critical, just localized swelling and bruising on the bridge of my nose. My mom didn't let the doctor do anything else. She just grabbed me and we left. "If it heals too fast, there won't be anything left for the medical examiner to document tomorrow." "Mom, it wouldn't heal that fast." My mom smiled and rolled her eyes at me. "I'm just joking. See? You smiled." I hugged her, feeling like a little kid again. She asked for the full story of what happened. I recounted the entire ordeal, still feeling a burning anger in my chest. She put her arm around my shoulders and said, "People with massive disparities in wealth simply shouldn't try to be close friends." I stopped walking. "Mom, I disagree with that. History is full of people who..." She cut me off. "I'm not talking about financial wealth. I'm talking about this." She tapped her temple. I understood. Chloe was short-sighted, completely blinded by petty, immediate gains. She lacked the vision to realize that if she simply practiced diligently, I could have easily secured her a highly-paid position at my mom's company after graduation. My phone started pinging relentlessly again. A barrage of messages demanding money. I handed the phone to my mom. She smiled. "How do you want to handle this?" "I want to refund every single penny. That way, I cut all ties completely and they have absolutely nothing to hold over my head." "Very smart. That way, even if they come crawling back to beg you for help one day, they won't have a leg to stand on." It was true. A 38-dollar yoga mat and 2-dollar yoga blocks? What kind of quality materials could possibly be used for that? The professional yoga industry had blacklisted those cheap materials years ago. Those things reeked of toxic chemicals. If you left them out in the sun and then breathed heavily while working out on them, they posed a direct threat to your health.
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